Gaming Easter Eggs Cracked Open

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We take a look at a few of the best, worst and weirdest videogame Easter Eggs.

By Rob Burman

Ah, the joys of Easter. Waking up on Sunday morning, safe in the knowledge there's an entire day's worth of brown fingers and gorging ahead. What fun. But, of course, there's a more serious side to Easter - and, in this instance, that's finding eggs. So, in the spirit of literalism, it only seems appropriate to wind up the pre-Bank Holiday working week with a look at some of our favourite, not-so-favourite and generally rubbish Easter Eggs in videogames.

Easter Eggs, as they're known, can be found in DVDs, games and even books. Some are decent, like the CGI blooper real on the Spider-Man DVD, and some less so - anything to do with Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, for instance. In the world of videogames it's a mixed bag too, with a smorgasbord of offerings, ranging from the juicy (ham) to the downright rotten (boiled egg). So, without further ado, let's break out the list.

Resident Evil 4 (GameCube)

Despite its pervasive gritty survival horror ambience, it's not all doom and gloom in Capcom's modern classic. If you're one of those gaming knicker-peekers, you've probably already tried tilting the camera to look up Ashley's skirt during Leon's escort mission. Wait till she's climbing a ladder and - being a modern lady and all - she'll demand an explanation. Oh, and call you a pervert. If only Capcom had included Naked Gun's classic "Nice beaver" line, the experience would be complete.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2)

Rockstar's 80s opus is chock full of secrets and surprises, including perhaps the most literal interpretation of 'Easter Egg' we've yet seen. First up, visit the heli-pad atop the news station on west island. To the east, there's a grey building with a fake window - run up and jump through. Inside, you'll find a genuine, honest-to-goodness Easter egg with a polite seasonal scrawl on it.

Megaman ZX (DS)

Many Easter Eggs in games use your console's built-in clock to unlock certain time-based secrets - as is the case with Megaman ZX. Remember giving your DS your birthday during set-up? Well, head to area C-1 and talk to Sherry on your special day and she gives you a lovely birthday cake - ideal for restoring some health. Of course, unscrupulous types can abuse this generosity by changing the date on their DS each time they play. But that's fine - cheaters get herpes, after all.

Pikmin (GameCube)

We're particularly fond of those Easter Eggs that make absolutely no sense whatsoever, here at IGN. A fine example of this is in Pikmin on GameCube. Press down on the d-pad during play and Olimar lays on the ground. Hold down long enough and Pikmin will eventually surround the captain, carrying him back to one of their Onions. As a reward for the Pikmin's toil, Olimar gets sucked up, exploding a beautiful display of fireworks. And that, dear friend, is why you should never trust a centimetre high sprout with pyrotechnics.

Halo 2 (Xbox)

Bungie went a bit Easter Egg mad in Halo 2. Perhaps it should have spent less time putting in funny bits and more time sorting out the ending, eh? Eh? Anyway, we could go on and on about the Easter Eggs in Halo 2 but we'll just concentrate on our favourite for now. In Legendary mode on the Arbiter level, get to the first Banshee section. Once there, fly straight to the bottom of the map and look for a crack in one of the large cylinders on the station. Inside are some Grunts dancing around a skull. Pick up the skull and it says "Grunt Birthday Party. In exchange for your troubles, successful headshots now cause enemies to explode. And who needs some resolution when you've got exploding baddies?